Winter coming; power outages, what to do?

bonniesmom · Post by **bonniesmom** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 11:55 am

I have been thinking about this for a week or so now. What do people do in case of a power outage in the winter? A couple of winters ago, my power went out due to an ice storm. I was wondering what one should do if that happens? I don't have a burning stove or anything like that? What is the best option; packing a small travel tank and transporting to someplace warm? How long should I wait? You know power could go out for 2,4,6 hrs or days. I hope I don't have to deal with this issue this winter, but I want to be somewhat prepared.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 12:06 pm

I'm new to this to but I know I would wrap them in blankets the tank but I'm lucky I have a fire place. and my temp stays at a good temp.

eyohkay · Post by **eyohkay** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 12:21 pm

This is something I've wondered about as well. My boyfriend is an engineer, so he has all sorts of crazy pieces of equipment around the house. He has a battery back up system that he lent me that will keep the heaters on for up to six hours if the electricity goes out. But if an outage lasted for longer than six hours, I'm not sure what I would do.

rototee · Post by **rototee** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 12:32 pm

I live in the middle of know where in TN. It is rare that we have ice storms, but last year we got a freak 17" of snow. When that happens, our electricity goes out for a couple of days. Lucky for me I still have the old gas stove that we used before we had central installed. I will just move all my guys over to my two 10 gal. ISO's and off to the warm room we go.

Crabby Abby · Post by **Crabby Abby** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 12:49 pm

That's a crabbers worst fear. Tank temps absolutely cannot go below 70 for very long without them slipping into permanent sleep so should you lose power immediately close your lid and slide shut or tape over any fresh air exchange you have to prevent the cold from getting in. Unplug your lights and heaters and wrap the tank with blankets. If it sits on a cabinet, fill the cabinet with pillows or blankets to prevent cold from rising up and chilling the substrate. If it appears that your power outage might be prolonged take them to the heated home of a friend or relative until power returns if it all possible. Even with wraps it can be really difficult to maintain warmth in an ice cold house.Some members here have used large styrofoam blocks taped to the sides of the tank to prevent heat loss. They're not really attractive but they do help insulate it.Now let me tell you what really doesn't work though so you don't invest false hope in it - hand warmers. I set a deep tupperware in one of my tanks and filled it with several of them last year thinking they would generate heat. My tank stayed warm due to my diligent wrap with no thanks to the heat packs which didn't radiate one speck of warm output.These two tanks (72g, 29g) were wrapped last year when my BIL lazed around through a warm spell and picked the coldest of days to replace my large bay windows giving me just one hour notice that he was on his way. Temps were right around 40 and I was practically hyperventilating with panic about the windows being out all day as they prepped for the new ones. Pillows are stuffed in my cabinets and both tanks have 3, maybe 4 blankets and comforters over them. I smoothed the blankets down to make contact with the glass and then tightly wrapped them with rope. The windows were out from 9am until dinner and my tanks were as toasty when I uncovered them as they were when I wrapped them.

bonniesmom · Post by **bonniesmom** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 1:16 pm

Wow, what a story CA! I am just going hope, pray to my higher power that I won't have to deal with any outages. It really makes me nervous thinking about it. I think I will start stashing old comforters, pillowes in the attic instead of throwing or giving them away, just in case. I am going to save this in my favorites in case I forget something. Of course, if the power is out, I won't be able to look at this thread, duh! But, I can look at it when bad weather is expected! We do have a generator in our shed; but, it is a pain to hook up or so, my hubby says. He has only hooked it up once. Thanks!

Shelly · Post by **Shelly** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 2:20 am

I've been thinking about that for a little while so my husband and I decided to buy a generator this year,I told him I needed one with enough capacity to run the heat so the crabs and us would be warm.Luckily he can use the generator for work too when he is out on installs,here in OK we have gotten hit a few times by ice storms,bad storms and floodings so it's really not a luxery to own one..

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 4:59 am

I'm with Shelly! If you have any worry at all, invest in a generator. They make small ones. We live in the all-wooded-boonies, so we have gone 6+ days with no electricity when the ice starts snapping lines. Luckily, we have a wood burning stove that we use to heat our home in the winter, so we all huddled in the family room for those 6 days. We immediately bought a HUGE generator as soon as we could get off the bluff and to the store. Wish I could offer you some good ideas, but I think the generator is the best.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 5:22 am

I have a large number of tropical invertebrates and when the power goes out here, I put them in collection cups/small tupperwares with a bit of substrate, put them in coolers, and tape a bunch of those 78 hour shipping heat packs (the kind used to ship animals, not hand warmers) to the inside of the cooler's lid. Keeps it warm, thus keeps them warm, and easier/more efficient than trying to keep a large thing like a whole tank warm. Heat packs can be replaced as they burn out, which is good for outages that last days.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 8:50 am

Check out battery backups for computer systems, sometimes they are cheaper than Generators.